he said his action was itself a work of art, part of a movement he co-founded, which argues that anything can be art. the judge sentencing him today for criminal damage did not buy the argument, saying it was unacceptable to promote his movement by damaging a work of art which was a gift to the nation. he handed out a two year jail term, which according to the man's friend, was a bit harsh. >> he is not guilty, from my point of view, because he did something new. now, it is two years in prison. i think it is too long. >> the incident took place in september at the tate modern. the man casually walked up to the painting and wrote on it. it took moments to perpetrate. because of complex printing techniques, the damage will take a great deal of effort, money, and time to repair. the ink soaked all the way through the canvas, affecting layer after layer of specially- mixed paint. >> it is extremely complicated. it takes a lot of thought and a lot of experimentation before you can even come to touching the painting. it is quite normal for that to take a long time. a lot of that will be the pla